28 things to do with an old bra

Sorry for the 2-day silence, gentle readers — we’ve been on planes, trains and automobiles in meetings about some exciting upcoming stuff at Knickers. They’ll be rolling out over the summer months, so stay tuned!

While we were out, our sports writer Palila started thinking… what can you do with old bras? You know, those slightly-too-small, way-too-fussy, underwire-pokey bras skulking at the back of your lingerie drawer? That one you bought because it was so gorgeous, but digs into your back like crazy? We’ve all got them, and Palila sent us a list of ideas for re-using old bras. That got us thinking, and we managed to find quite a few ways!

28 things to do with an old bra

Repair it

Many bras lose their lives to the cruel spin of the washing machine – they emerge with wires poking out, and you keep forgetting to take them to a tailor (or just bin them). You don’t have to be a seamstress to fix them, though — you just need a paperclip, needle and thread and can sew the wire back into place. If you’re caught at work with a pokey bra, grab a pencil eraser and some glue to keep the sharp edge from annoying you all day.

Pimp It

Got a perfectly healthy, perfectly boring old bra? Try dressing it up in something a little more “you.” This Etsy seller took a boring tee-shirt bra and turned it into a lovely lacy bra, adding French lace along the cups and back (pictured above). You could add sequins and make a belly-dancer costume, or create a burlesque look with some rhinestones. If you prefer something a bit more geeky, why not add electronic silicon LED’s?

Change it

Your old bra doesn’t have to be a bra – it could be a lovely lavender sachet (pictured above), an art installation, a local tourist attraction, quilt, and even a handbag. In fact, bra handbags are very popular, and you can find some lovely examples on Etsy– this is our favourite!

Display it

One thing we’ve always wanted to do was take an old lovely picture frame, pick out our favourite set that didn’t fit, and pin it inside the frame for some instant lingerie art. In fact, when we get a Knickers HQ that’s totally how we’re decorating!

Give it

If you barely wore the bra, why not donate it to a charity? Breasttalk are kind enough to take your old bra and donate it to a wide network of UK and overseas charities, helping out women who barely have anything, much less a well-fitting bra. If you’d prefer to give locally, you could Freecycle any bras to people in your area.

If the bra isn’t in good enough shape, you can donate it to art instead. Heck, you can even turn it into art then donate the art for charity!

Other ideas

Here are some other ideas you can try out:

• Cut off the straps and turn them into earmuffs –Danae’s mom
• Cut off the lace and use it to cover old buttons
• Use them in the garden to support growing vegetables
• Give it to a random stranger on the internet
• Use the cloth to sew an iPod pocket on your sports bra
• Turn it into a hat (ha!)
• Sew it into a camisole for support
• Buy The Bra-makers Manual and use an old bra to practice

What did we forget?

We’re sure we haven’t found all the uses for an old bra — what do you think? Tell us in the comments!